Helldivers 2's new Warbond lets you kit out as Spartan super-soldier
Sony's alien-invasion co-op shooter is on a hot streak at the moment, to the point where we're just about ready to forgive them for the rollercoaster they took us on when they didn't, and then did, and then didn't, force PC players to link their Steam accounts to PlayStation Network to play it (though they haven't given up on the whole idea just yet).
Following on from yesterday's massive Omens of Tyranny update that reintroduced the Illuminates faction from the original game among many many other things, Arrowhead Game Studios have now released a new Warbond package for Super Earth's finest.
The Urban Legends Warbond debuts the game's first ever melee secondary weapon, the SQC-19 Stun Lance, which lets you poke at invaders from a decent range and stop them in their tracks with electrical zaps. While there's been a throwing knife and a crappy bayonet rifle in the game for a while now, this marks the first instance of a proper, dedicated lance provided to the soldiers of super earth. This pairs particularly well with the new SH-51 Direction Shield stratagem, which offers you a solid range of protection while you prod aliens with the Stun Lance.
Add to that the SR-18 Roadblock heavy armor, consisting of a Spartan-style crested helmet and beefy pauldrons, and you can kit yourself out like a tanky, hellenic super-soldier of the future. And just to confirm that those '300' vibes are more than a coincidence, the Warbond adds the "This is Democracy!" emote, which you can yell out as a swarm of Terminid Chargers descends on your stalwart defence.
The one thing I'm scratching my head about in this Warbond are the new Armed Resupply Pods, which plonk a tiny turret on top of your ammo resupplies. Supposedly they give you cover by shooting enemies as you run to get ammo, but seeing as turrets tend not to mind riddling you with bullets if you happen to be standing between them and the encroaching hordes, I'm going to follow the devs' advice to "keep your head down on approach" when dashing to resupply.
There's plenty more in the Urban Legends bundle, including Anti-Tank Emplacements, a Flame Sentry, a couple of capes, and other cosmetics, among other things. The Warbond costs 1000 Super Credits, which equates to about $10/£8, though you can also painstakingly earn that bounty in-game by scavenging them from the missile-glassed earth of the planets you're supposedly 'liberating'.